Canadian tax law is a winner for lottery players
Tuesday November 24th 2009The 1st winners of the $50 million jackpot prize for the newest game in the Canadian Lottery game, Lotto Max, have found that they did more than win the jackpot. When they scooped the top prize in this Canadian Lottery game absolutely tax free it was soon realised that the Canadian tax law is a winner for lottery players.
Unlike in the US, where all wins from the lottery are taxable, the Canadian Revenue Agency however, views things a little differently. They deem all winnings from the lottery or any other type of gambling to be tax free unless players are deemed ‘professional gamblers’.
The reasoning behind this decision for the lottery is that a considerable amount of lottery funding is given to charities and other non profit organizations and this in itself could be classed as a considerable amount of taxation of sorts and as this funding is so important it would be unfair to tax twice.
You would think that this tax break would prompt people south of the border to buy lottery tickets in Canada, however, the various state lottery games still seem to remain favourite amongst Americans, with the two multi-state lottery games frequently boasting staggering jackpots. However, times are hard across the world, and we could see players not only searching for a world lottery with the best jackpot, but also considering the best gambling and wagering tax breaks too.
The next Canadian Lotto Max draw will be drawn on Friday and has an estimated jackpot of $25 million, but there is some way to go to reach the $50 million paid out on the 1st jackpot win for this lottery game.